Stay With Me
by Hell.En B
Summary: It was supposed to be just another party. No one saw the fire coming... One-shot.


**Title: **Stay with Me

**Pairing: **Rachel/Quinn

**Summary: **It was supposed to be just another party. No one saw the fire coming...

**Disclaimer**: Glee is not mine.

**A/N: **There isn't really much to say here. The errors are all mine. What happened in Brazil this weekend really shocked me, and this was my way to put it out. Thanks for reading.

xxx

Rachel entered the house and immediately cringed. The strong smell of sweat and alcohol in the air would be enough to make the small girl turn around and go back home, but her best friend's hand in her back kept her from doing so. She missed her comfy bed and the new book she started two days ago. If she hadn't promised Santana she would come with her to this stupid party, that's exactly what she'd be doing right now — reading in her bed.

"I'll go get us something to drink," San said in her ear so she could be heard over the loud music. "You're getting drunk tonight, Berry." With a playful slap to her butt and a wink, the taller brunette left her alone in the crowded living room.

Puck's parties were famous and it looked like every student of McKinley was there. The house was small, _too _small. Everywhere Rachel looked, there were people dancing/drinking/making out/smoking. It was overwhelming.

With some — a _lot _of — difficulty, Rachel spotted a few members of Glee near the only couch. Tina and Mike smiled and Kurt hugged her when she was close enough. They were all pretty drunk, Rachel could tell. From where she was, she could see Finn trying to dance with some girl — he was so tall it was impossible not to see. She felt bad for the poor girl that was trying not to get hit by his flying hands. Mercedes was not far from them, talking to Sam animatedly.

"Where is Santana?" Kurt yelled, his blue eyes wide and sparkling.

"Kitchen," she answered in a lower tone. "She went to get us something to drink."

Five minutes later, the Latina finally found them. Her dark hair was mussed, her cheeks were red and she had a silly smile on her face that told Rachel she'd been drinking a lot more than the beer she had in her hand. Sighing, the diva took one red cup from her and tentatively sipped it, grimacing at the taste.

"What is in this?" she asked.

Santana shrugged. "No idea. Puck made it."

And that was enough to make Rachel give the cup to Kurt, who happily accepted it. She couldn't get drunk, anyway. Someone would have to drive them home and there was no way Rachel would let Santana do it. Staying at Puck's wasn't a option, either. The boy would be lucky it the house was still standing the next day because she was sure she saw Karofsky breaking a window before she came in. With a freaking broom.

When Santana asked her to dance, the diva shrugged and went with her best friend. For the next hour or so, they stayed in the middle of the living room, bodies pressed together, moving in sync. It was only when San went to get another drink that Rachel escaped the crowd. Going in the kitchen, she saw the Latina flirting with Brittany over a bottle of vodka, so she decided to let her friend be.

The cold wind against her sweaty skin made her shiver when she exited the house. Closing the back door behind her, she looked around the backyard to see if there was anyone out there. To her surprise, her eyes found a pair of hazel ones not too far away. Sitting on the grass with a lit cigarette in one hand, Quinn Fabray smirked.

"Hi, Berry," the punk girl said calmly. "Didn't think I'd find you here."

Rachel sighed and went to sit beside the other girl. "Trust me, you certainly wouldn't if I had a choice," she grumbled. Through the window, though, she could see Santana laughing and she couldn't help smiling fondly at the scene. "San wanted to come."

"Are you having fun?"

"I guess." Rachel shrugged. "It's... crowded."

Quinn chuckled. "Yeah, that's a high school party for you, Berry. People don't waste a chance to get drunk around Lima, you know?"

She watched the little diva shrug again and look back toward the house. As she took another drag, her eyes ran down the girl's body. Rachel was wearing a nice dark blue dress that didn't reach her knees and flats. It was such a simple look; no heavy make up or high heels. Quinn liked it because Rachel was one of those girls that didn't need much to look stunning. She was just naturally beautiful.

"Why are you out here?" Rachel asked after a few minutes.

"I don't know," Quinn admitted. "It was... crowded," she said with a smirk, chuckling when the diva rolled her big, brown eyes. "I am not sure why I came to this stupid party, anyway. It's not like I want to be here."

"Then why don't you leave?"

"_Maybe_," Quinn whispered as she leaned closer to the other girl with a playful smile, "I'm waiting to see if I can get a hot brunette to come with me."

Rachel blushed. "Don't flirt with me, Quinn Fabray."

"And why not?"

"Because I might say yes and I can't leave Santana here," she answered honestly.

It wasn't the first time Quinn flirted with her and it would hardly be the last. Actually, it seemed like the ex-blonde used every chance she got to flirt with the diva. Rachel was reluctant the first few times, but ended up giving in eventually. She lost count of how many times the two of them made out under the bleachers during lunch or in the backseat of her car after Glee practice. Santana was not amused when she found out about their... _thing_, but that was probably because she could see Quinn's hand inside her shirt and because she _couldn't _see where her other hand was when she walked in on them. She accepted it, though, after a long, passionate Berry-rant.

Quinn was the most infuriating, charming, _beautiful _girl Rachel knew. With her messy pink/blonde hair, nose ring, dark clothes and bad attitude, the punk girl kept her constantly irritated and hot. She could make the diva red with rage with only a few words and then make her melt with a sweet smile. And, secretly, that's exactly why Rachel kept coming back to her. Quinn challenged her, she fought back and she knew all the right places that drove the diva mad. Rachel loved when she would press her against the wall and kiss her senseless, how she could be rough when Rachel wanted and sweet when Rachel needed.

"I doubt she would even notice," Quinn continued before pecking the girl's rosy cheek. "My mom is away for the weekend. We could have a lot of fun, Rach."

Rachel sighed and shook her head. "I'm not leaving, Q."

The punk girl pouted a little and it was so adorable Rachel couldn't resist kissing it away. It started soft, but Quinn rapidly took control. As the ex-blonde's tongue invaded her mouth, Rachel's hand found its way into the girl's silky hair. Her other hand grabbed the front of Quinn's shirt, pulling the girl closer.

It was only minutes later when the sound of another window breaking made them stop. By then, Rachel was sitting on the punk's lap — even though she had no idea how or when she got there — and there was no space between them. Panting, the brunette let her head rest on the girl's shoulder as her had played with her pink hair, nails scratching her scalp gently. Quinn's arms were wrapped around her waist protectively, keeping her pressed against her.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come with me?" Quinn whispered against the top of her head.

"I can't, Q." Looking up, she pecked the punk's lips quickly. "But you can stay here with me," she added with a hopeful smile. "Just for another hour. It won't take much longer for Santana to pass out. I think she drank a whole bottle of vodka alone with Puck in, like, ten minutes."

Quinn frowned and Rachel thought she was going to say no for a moment, but she ended up nodding. Grinning, Rachel gave her another kiss, longer this time, before getting up from the grass and offering the girl her hand.

"Where are you going?" Quinn asked as Rachel helped her get up, too.

"_We_," Rachel said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the house, "are going to dance a little bit."

"_Rachel_," the punk groaned, but let the little diva drag her.

"Shush." Rachel stopped by the back door and turned around quickly to kiss her one more time, pushing her away playfully when the pink haired girl tried to pin her against the way. "It'll be fun, Q."

And when, five minutes later, Quinn found herself with Rachel's back pressed firmly against her front as they danced together, she thought that _that _was definitely fun. She let her hands travel down the smaller girl's side and over her toned thighs, her lips kissing and bitting her sweaty neck.

When the music ended, Rachel turned around with a sexy smirk.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she whispered against her ear because the next music had started. People around her were dancing again. "Gimme a minute and come find me, okay?"

With a dazed nod, the punk girl watched Rachel disappear in the crowd.

And then it happened.

People were too drunk or high to notice the smoke that started to come out of one of the rooms and when they did notice, it was already too late. Stunned, the few that saw it start just stood there, looking as the small flame became bigger and bigger until it reached the white carpet on the floor and the paper on the walls. From there, it became a disaster.

"FIRE!"

It was a mix of screams and music and bodies moving _everywhere_ until someone turned off the sound. After that, there were only the screams. The house was small, but there was too many people inside. There were only two ways out and, as the flames reached the living room, some started to climb the windows, doing everything to get away from the dense smoke that filled the crowded room.

"Rachel!"

Quinn's scream was lost in between the madness around her. The punk girl tried to go toward the bathroom, but she was pushed away. She could hear crying and coughing around her, but she couldn't see much because of the smoke. She couldn't see _Rachel_. Her eyes started to water because of a lot of different reasons as she fought back, trying to get to the other side of the room.

Rachel had no idea what was happening when she stepped out of the small bathroom. It had been almost ten minutes and Quinn didn't come after her, so she planed to go search for the punk girl. When she opened the door, the only thing she could see was black and legs running around. Almost at the same time, the music was cut and the screams became clear.

Out of nowhere, one girl forced her way inside the bathroom and fell to her knees, coughing desperately. Rachel looked outside the room one last time before closing the door again. Still she could hear the screams from outside, but they were muffled by the cries of the girl that was lying on the floor.

Rachel didn't know her name, but she was pretty sure the girl was a cheerleader. Kneeling down beside her, she pushed her dirty blonde hair behind her ear and helped her sit up. Terrified blue eyes looked at her as she tried to breath, but her panic and tears left her panting. Trying not to panic, too, Rachel grabbed one of her hands gently and pressed it against her own chest.

"Just breath," she told the girl and took one deep breath. "See. Come on, do it with me. In." She inhaled. "Out." She exhaled. They did that until the girl's tears stopped and she could breath better. "Better?"

"Y-Yeah," the girl mumbled with a sniff. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Rachel squeezed her hand one last time before letting go. The girl whimpered and grabbed her dress when Rachel tried to get up. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere," the diva said softly. "I'm not leaving, okay?"

Her only response was a weak nod as the girl let her go.

Standing, she went to the sink and started to open drawers. It was on the third one that she found what she was looking for. There were only three face towels and one regular towel, so she took everything out of the drawer and dumped it on the floor. Grabbing one of the face towels, she opened the faucet and wet it.

"Here," she said as she kneed by the girl again. Carefully, she cleaned the girl's face with the wet towel. "What's your name?"

"Karen."

"Hi, Karen. I'm Rachel." She sat down beside the girl and looked at the door. There was smoke entering the bathroom through the cracks of the door. "How did this happen?"

Karen sniffed. "The guys from the football team and some Cheerios were smoking inside one the bedrooms," she explained with a frown. "I'm not sure what happened. I think Azimio started to play with some matches. Next thing we know, the curtains were on fire." She shook her head. "It was so fast..."

By that point, the bathroom was getting foggy. They couldn't hear the screams outside anymore.

"We have to stop the smoke from coming in," Rachel said when Karen coughed beside her.

"There isn't enough towels."

Getting up again, Rachel pushed the shower curtains aside and sighed in relief. There was a small window, too small for her to get out, but enough to get the smoke out.

"Karen, I need your help," she called when she saw it was too high for her to open it. The blonde cheerleader appeared beside her and, with a little bit of trouble, got the window open. The rush of fresh air that came in made the girl sob in relief.

Rachel went back for the towels while Karen started to scream for help. Just as the diva stepped back inside the shower, the lights went out.

"Fuck," Karen sobbed. "Fuck! Fuck! Help! Somebody help us! Please, help!"

Grabbing the girl's arm, Rachel pulled her down with her. She didn't know a lot about fires, but she knew enough to stay near the floor and try not to panic. As Karen sobbed helplessly beside her, she gently placed a wet towel over her nose and mouth.

"Keep it there, Karen," she said. "We are going to be fine. I'm sure help is coming."

Karen continued to cry. "I don't wanna die!"

"You're not going to." She lifted her own wet towel to her face and covered her nose. "We are going to be fine."

Outside the house, Quinn was looking around frantically. Rachel wasn't anywhere to be found. Around her, there were people lying on the grass and sitting, crying and screaming. Some of the neighbors came when they saw what was going on and closed the doors, not letting anyone get inside the house. Buckets of water were being passed around, but it wasn't enough.

She saw Santana a few meters away, holding an unconscious Brittany in her arms and looking around. When her eyes met Quinn's desperate ones, the Latina started to cry because there was no way the punk would be without Rachel now unless...

Quinn was going to try the backyard when she saw it.

Light.

A tiny, high window on the far left side of the house. And there were light and smoke coming from it. As fast as her legs would take her, the pink haired girl got there just in time to hear it.

"... Please, help!"

And then the light was gone.

"Rachel!" she called desperately. "Rachel, are you there?"

Please, God. _Please_...

"Quinn!"

A sob escaped the ex-blonde as she fell to her knees on the grass, forehead pressed against the wall.

"Quinn," she heard her call again. "Is that you? Quinn!"

"It's me. I'm here." Standing up again, she looked around for help, but everybody that could stand was working on trying to extinguish the fire. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"We're fine."

The punk frowned. "How many people are there with you, Rae?"

"Just one."

"Okay," Quinn said more to herself than to the other girls. "Okay. I'll go get help."

She grabbed the first person she found in her way, an man in his forties that was running around with a bucket. Near them, a window exploded, raining glass.

"Sir, sir! I need your help," she said frantically as she pointed toward the bathroom's open window. "There are people in _there_!"

The man looked at her before looking at the window and his eyes widened.

"Jesus Christ," he whispered. They ran toward the window together. "Hey!"

"Help!" was shouted back.

"Hang in there," he said. "We called the Firemen. They are on their way!" He looked back at the crying girl beside him and put one hand on her shoulder. "Keep them talking, kid. We need to know they're fine."

Quinn only nodded as he went back with his bucket. Looking back at the window, she pressed herself against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Rae..."

It took a few seconds, but the answer came. "I'm here, Q."

"Stay with me, o-okay?" she called as she cried. "You have to stay with me, love."

"... Not going anywhere, baby."

In the distance, they could hear the sirens and Quinn sobbed again in relief. They were going to fix this; they were going to take Rachel out of that house.

"Help is coming," she said. "They are almost here. Keep talking, love. I know you love to do it."

Even through the wall and the chaos going around them, Quinn could hear the brunette's husky chuckle.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to go with you tonight, Q," came after a few seconds. "I never planed to fall for some punk girl with pink hair and a bad attitude, but I guess I never had a chance."

Quinn smiled as she pressed her face against the wall again. "Yeah?"

"You are so frustrating all the time." Another husky chuckle. "But you can be gentle and romantic and I love that you only show that side of yourself to me. You remember that flower that you gave me once because you said it reminded you of my eyes? It was the ugliest flower I have ever seen, but you were blushing and you were honest. I kept it. It's on my favorite book, last page. You gave it to me, so it was special."

"I wasn't _ugly_," the punk protested weakly.

"... It really was, baby."

The man came back toward her with two firemen with him. Quinn took a step back.

"They're in the bathroom," she said when they reached her. "Hurry!" When they disappeared around the corner, she pressed herself against the wall again. "They are coming for you, Rae."

It took a few seconds again, enough to make the punk girl start to panic.

"Good. I think Karen it's about to pass out."

"What about you?" Quinn pressed. "Rachel!"

"You know what else I love about you?" the brunette said instead. "Your eyes. Their... perfect. Not only the color, you know? I love how they... Hmmm, how they—." She started to cough. "Ugh, this can't be good for my voice."

It was such a ridiculous thing to say that Quinn found herself chuckling.

"You know, I never planed to fall for some annoying diva, either," the punk girl said with a gentle smile. "You're... God, Rae, you're the best thing in my life. I wake up everyday thinking about how I'll see you in a few hours and I go to sleep thinking about you. Your face, your voice, your laugh..."

"I'm not annoying, Quinn. You're annoying..."

Of course, that was the part she focused on. Quinn shook her head fondly.

"... You love me, uh?"

"You love me, too," the punk said back.

"Oh, did I say that?" Rachel coughed again. "Must be the smoke. It's messing with my head."

Quinn opened her eyes and looked up. The smoke coming out of the window was dense and the bathroom was small. Her eyes started to water again because she could hear Rachel's cough.

"Rae..."

The sound of the door being opened and shouts from the inside made her jump. They were there, she told herself. She's going to be fine. She _has _to be fine. Please, God, let her be fine...

In front of the house, the firemen came back with two girls in their arms and they were immediately taken to the ambulance. People around watched as a pink haired girl begged to go with them before she disappeared inside the vehicle. As it disappeared down the road, other ambulances made their way to take more people to the hospital.

Inside the house, when the firemen extinguished the fire, the scene they found would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Teens, dozens of them, lying on the floor _everywhere_. So many lives... waisted. No one thought something like that could ever happen in Lima, Ohio.

In the ambulance, Quinn looked down at the brunette — _her _brunette — and sobbed. Rachel opened her eyes just in time to see the girl break down and she smiled weakly under the mask over her nose and mouth.

"Hi, l-love," the punk sobbed quietly.

Rachel closed her eyes for a second. Beside her, Karen was lying motionlessly as the paramedics mussed over her. She hoped the girl was okay, that she would live.

She promised her.

Opening her eyes, she looked at hazel shining ones.

"... Hi."

Quinn cried as she took her hand, squeezing it.

They were going to be okay.

xxx

**In honor of the 235 victims of the fire in Santa Maria, RS, Brazil**

**R.I.P.**

"**Que a justiça seja feita."**


End file.
